There is something different with European Championship qualifiers compared to the World Cup equivalent.
With 24 national teams taking part in the tournament next year in Germany, even those who don't dare to dream about playing in an international competition can do so.
Group I this year gave such an opportunity for several teams.
Excluding Switzerland, the clear favorite of the group, the other teams in that group will have a real chance to get the second spot.
The predicted three-way race will be between Romania, who missed out on the 2020 edition, and Israel and Kosovo, who have never played in the tournament before.
🇮🇱🇽🇰 @levyninho and @yossport1 are outside Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv for the #Euro2024Qualifiers opener between Israel and Kosovo.
— BabaGol (@BabaGol_) March 25, 2023
Full preview here: https://t.co/7nhb6v7wjw#ISRKOS pic.twitter.com/mW7EzSxaUY
Israel has a rich history of failures in these qualifiers.
Previously Israel has missed out twice after losing in the play-off.
Nearly 25 years ago, in the play-offs for Euro 2000, Denmark thrashed Israel 8-0 on aggregate.
Last time around, Israel lost to Scotland on penalties in the semi-finals.
After success in the Nations League, Israel has booked themselves a guaranteed play-off place once again, but this time will try to avoid it and qualify directly.
Kosovo, meanwhile, has had a long journey to this point.
Last time around they followed the same journey as Israel, with a defeat in the play-offs against North Macedonia.
They failed to impress in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, finishing in last place with a single win in eight matches.
All set at Bloomfield Stadium✅️
— BabaGol (@BabaGol_) March 25, 2023
🇮🇱🆚️🇽🇰#ISRKOS #EURO2024Qualifiers
📸 Our own @NickieLiberman pic.twitter.com/zukw1wQCpE
Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv was selected to host the game between these two teams after the recent success of the stadium against Albania in the Nations League.
Tickets sold out for the match against Kosovo two days before, giving the Israeli team the perfect home atmosphere.
But it didn’t help the home side. In the 36th minute, Kosovo took the lead.
Milot Rashica had more than one chance to create a goal during the first half, and this time he ran through the left-hand side, entered the box, and shot.
Israel captain, Eli Dasa, tried to clear it, but put it into his own net.
Milot Rashica celebrates the first goal for Kosovo (Nicole Liberman / BabaGol)
And it looked like history was repeating itself just after half-time.
Milot Rashica again rushed into the box, leaving Eli Dasa far in his wake, and converting himself.
It would’ve been Kosovo’s second goal, but before the away team had a chance to celebrate, the referee consulted VAR and disallowed the goal due to a handball.
Seven minutes later, Israel came back.
Manor Solomon, who is prolific this season at Fulham, played the ball through for a Dor Peretz equaliser.
It was 1-1, and both teams were trying to find the winning goal.
Dor Peretz scoring the equalizer for Israel (Nicole Liberman / BabaGol)
Without a winner, the biggest moment came for Israel just two minutes from time.
Bibars Natcho, who has captained the national team for the last four years, was subbed on for the last time.
Natcho has made 88 international caps and scored six goals.
As the full-time whistle rang, both teams will see this 1-1 draw from a different perspective.
Israel can be disappointed they failed to win at home, while for Kosovo it's a great opening match, readying them for an easier task next against Andorra.
The race for second place in the group has begun, and it's not going to be an easy one.
Edited by Alex Smith
